A Member of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha ( abbreviated: MP) is the representative of the Indian states to the one of the two houses of the

Parliament of India The Parliament of India ( IAST: ) is the supreme legislative body of the Republic of India. It is a bicameral legislature composed of the president of India and two houses: the Rajya Sabha (Council of States) and the Lok Sabha (House of ...

(Rajya Sabha). Rajya Sabha MPs are elected by the electoral college of the elected members of the State Assembly with a system of

proportional representation Proportional representation (PR) refers to a type of electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to geographical (e.g. states, regions) and political divis ...

by a

single transferable vote Single transferable vote (STV) is a multi-winner electoral system in which voters cast a single vote in the form of a ranked-choice ballot. Voters have the option to rank candidates, and their vote may be transferred according to alternate p ...

. Parliament of India is

bicameral Bicameralism is a type of legislature, one divided into two separate assemblies, chambers, or houses, known as a bicameral legislature. Bicameralism is distinguished from unicameralism, in which all members deliberate and vote as a single gr ...

with two houses; Rajya Sabha ( Upper house i.e. Council of States) and the

Lok Sabha The Lok Sabha, constitutionally the House of the People, is the lower house of India's bicameral Parliament, with the upper house being the Rajya Sabha. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by an adult universal suffrage and a first-p ...

( Lower house i.e. House of the People). The total number of members of Rajya Sabha are lesser than the Members of Parliament in the Lok Sabha and have more restricted power than the lower house (Lok Sabha). Unlike membership to the

, membership to the Rajya Sabha is permanent body and cannot be dissolved at any time. However every second year, one third of the members are retired and vacancy are filled up by fresh elections and Presidential nomination at the beginning of every third year.

Responsibilities of the members of parliament

Broad responsibilities of the members of parliament of Rajya Sabha are: *

Legislative A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers of government. Laws enacted by legislatures are usually known ...

responsibility: To pass Laws of India in the Rajya Sabha. * Oversight responsibility: To ensure that the executive (i.e. government) performs its duties satisfactorily. * Representative responsibility: To represent the views and aspirations of the people of their constituency in the Parliament of India (Rajya Sabha). * Power of the purse responsibility: To approve and oversee the revenues and expenditures proposed by the government. * The Union Council of Ministers, who are also members of parliament have an additional responsibility of the executive as compared to those who are not in the Council of Ministers.

Special powers

Members of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha enjoy special powers and responsibilities with regard to: * Making laws on any subject in the State List; * Making laws to create services at national level.

Term

Unlike membership to the Lok Sabha, membership to the Rajya Sabha is permanent. One third of its members retire every two years. So each member has a term of six years

Qualifications for being a member of parliament

A person must satisfy all following conditions to be qualified to become a member of parliament of the Rajya Sabha: * Must be a

citizen of India Indian nationality law details the conditions by which a person holds Indian nationality. The two primary pieces of legislation governing these requirements are the Constitution of India and the Citizenship Act, 1955. All persons born in In ...

* 30 years of age

Disqualifications for being a member of parliament

A person would be ineligible for being a Member of the Rajya Sabha if the person: * Holds any office of profit under the

Government of India The Government of India ( ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...

(other than an office permitted by Parliament of India by law). * Is of unsound mind. * Is an undischarged

insolvent In accounting, insolvency is the state of being unable to pay the debts, by a person or company ( debtor), at maturity; those in a state of insolvency are said to be ''insolvent''. There are two forms: cash-flow insolvency and balance-sheet in ...

. * Has ceased to be a citizen of India. * Is so disqualified by any law made by the Indian Parliament. * Is so disqualified on the ground of defection. * Has been convicted, among other things, for promoting enmity between different groups. * Has been convicted for offence of bribery. * Has been punished for preaching and practicing social crimes such as untouchability,

dowry A dowry is a payment, such as property or money, paid by the bride's family to the groom or his family at the time of marriage. Dowry contrasts with the related concepts of bride price and dower. While bride price or bride service is a payment ...

, sati. * Has been convicted for an offence and sentenced to imprisonment. * Has been dismissed for corruption or for disloyalty to the State (in case of a government servant).

Composition/strength

Membership in the Rajya Sabha is limited to 250 members, and up to 238 members are elected by the members of all the

Vidhan Sabha The State Legislative Assembly, or Vidhan Sabha, or also Saasana Sabha, is a legislative body in the states and union territories of India. In the 28 states and 3 union territories with a unicameral state legislature, it is the sole legislati ...

s (individual state legislatures) and up to 12 are nominated by the President for their contributions to art, literature, science, and social services. The strength can be lower than 250: the current one is at 245. (See next section on members.)

Members of the Rajya Sabha

References

{{Parliament of India Rajya Sabha Members of the Parliament of India